This was the woman who had helped Mattie become a more civilized person?
May all that is Holy help us!
Chapter 5
The rain continued to fall, increasing the possibility that the group would be swimming to the Hawksthorne Estate come the morning at this rate. Luckily, Mattie’s aunt had a couple of rooms free to house them for the night. Unfortunately, she had put her foot down when it came to the sleeping arrangements. Henriella made the logical excuse of not trusting Selina to her own devices, insisting Mattie stay in Bran’s old room with the girl while the men bunked down in the guest room.
Mattie found it hard to believe that was the woman’s only reason, considering the other room was across from Kelby’s and next to Dierthelm’s. Her two eldest cousins wouldn’t be back until much later, after they had a chance to help her Uncle Thaddeus clean up after tonight’s crowd. And she had a funny feeling they shared their parents’ prickly opinion about her husband.
She sighed, feeling that Garin was being treated unfairly. His conversation with her aunt in that creepy library had him shaking his head at Mattie’s questions and shutting her out of the bond. Though promising he would explain what happened later, worry about what might have occurred between those two nipped at her heels. After all, Mattie knew that smug look on her aunt’s face all too well. The woman felt she had won some kind of argument. Garin’s periodic “She’s something else.” that he darkly muttered in reference to Henriella pretty much confirmed that their discussion had been anything but pleasant.
Selina’s quiet voice suddenly came from the other side of the bed, “Can’t sleep either?”
“No,” Mattie answered with a sigh, folding her arms behind her head while staring at the ceiling. A flash of lightning lit up the room for a second, highlighting how virtually empty this place had become. All the furniture was still here, but everything else that her cousin owned had gone with him to the estate when he took on the role of groundskeeper.
The rumbling thunder in the distance seemed to match the turmoil in Mattie’s mind. Had it really only been six months ago that she was still happily working at the Pheasant? So much had changed in such a short amount of a time, and the memories of what this room had once been flickered in her head. Hard not to remember all the flora that Bran had littered about the place, especially when one of his potted vines had tripped her up while she had snuck in through the window.
The memory caused Mattie to smile. When she had needed a comrade in trouble, she was glad it had been Bran. Henriella would probably never forgive her niece for dragging her youngest son on so many misadventures, let alone encouraging him to be the first to officially leave the nest. Still, his friendship had made this place more bearable.
Mattie heard the bedsprings creak when Selina rolled over onto her side. Taking a quick glance at the girl, she noticed that Selina’s right arm was bent so her hand could support her head. Another lightning flash highlighted the troubled expression on her young face.
“Mattie, just what is it with Crosshawk?”
Her vague question had been spoken with such earnestness, Mattie couldn’t help but wonder at its cause. Despite the stone that had formed in her gut, she kept the tone of her response light, “You might want to be more specific than that if you want a real answer.”
Even in the dark, Mattie could almost see the girl begin to chew her bottom lip in thought. The next rumble of thunder almost covered up her clarification. “I mean, there’s an energy here I only felt once or twice before.”
Mattie’s arms soon moved so she could use her elbows to prop herself up. Taking a stab at guessing the previous locations, the woman queried, “At the Mage’s Stronghold or in the Arduenna Kingdom?”
There was reverent surprise in Selina’s voice when she said, “Both, actually. How did you know?”
Going with the magical aspect easiest to explain, Mattie frankly said, “Elves are elves. The land seems to soak up their power no matter where they dwell.”
Selina’s brown eyes grew as wide as saucers, easily reflecting the next flashes of light from the storm. “So The Exiles everyone talks about were from Arduenna?”
“Yes. I thought you had realized that already. I’m sorry no one clarified it for you.”
“But why were they exiled? Why live here of all places?”
Getting comfortable, Mattie turned over and faced the girl. They were nearly mirror images after she used her left hand to support her head. Since the second question wandered too far into realms best left untouched for now, Mattie decided to answer the first. She waited for the rumble of thunder to pass before she began:
“The start of the Great War was originally only between High King Rupert’s men and the Draconians. The elves sent out supplies and healers to both sides, hoping to remain neutral during a conflict that had no bearing on them. For a fair length of time, King Cambyses and Queen Iantha’s good intentions worked.”
“But not forever,” guessed Selina rightly.
Mattie shook her head before continuing, “The problem with helping in conflicts in such a way is that everyone hears both sides of the story. A few of the elven lords…I mean, a few of the Silvas suggested that they side with the Draconians for they seemed to have been the party most aggrieved. More believed that it was the humans who needed support against such a powerful race. But despite all the protests, the monarchs stood firm on their decision not to get the elves involved.”
A flash of lightning illuminated the girl’s face, showing her real interest in this story. “So what changed their minds?” she genuinely asked. “I know that the elves eventually fought against the Draconians.”
Very few knew with absolute certainty that it had been King Cambyses’ death that had ripped apart the elves neutrality. It would be hard to explain that fact since the elven queen was using her Soul Caller power to make it seem like he was still alive and well to the rest of the world. And the truth was more dangerous than the girl should ever know.
Hating to lie to Selina, Mattie managed to shrug her shoulders. “I’m not quite sure what happened, but the war spilled into the Arduenna Kingdom. The Draconians did something unforgivable during that skirmish, the details of which are fuzzy.”
Selina was silent for a good while, contemplating what Mattie had told her so far. The soft rumble of thunder indicated that the storm was finally beginning to move away. Then the girl firmly said, “The elves exiled were the ones who believed that the Draconians were in the right.”
“Actually, they fled Arduenna under the cover of night.”
“So why call them exiles?”
“Because Iantha swiftly covered up their desertion with the lie that she had thrown the dissidents out. She couldn’t spare any forces to bring them back for justice at the time. Either way, they were forbidden to ever return.”
“Considering the way elves almost live forever, why haven’t I seen any of these outcasts milling around here?”
Mattie was impressed. The girl had a brain, no doubt about it. “When the small group first arrived, the number of human landholders was barely equal to their own. But as the population grew over time, The Exiles decided to find a less crowded place to live. They even sought help from the Mage’s Council two hundred and fifty years ago, though only one Loganach remembered the treaty and answered their call. The stories tell us it was a rough time, what with families being split apart. Many humans whose veins ran with elven blood remained, even some of the more powerful ones known as the Potenti. They say the fields were drenched with many tears for they would never see each other again.”
There was sad understanding in the girl’s voice when she asked, “So the elves never came back? Not even to visit?”
The rain pounding on the roof had slowed down, making it almost sound like the sky was softly weeping. With all the events Selina had gone through that had her feeling abandoned, Mattie sadly had to say, “No. They chartered ships and set sail to distant shores. No one here knows wh
at happened to them.”
Selina flipped over onto her back and mumbled a harsh, “Well, that sucks.”
Mattie waited to see if the girl had any more questions. Time passed with nothing but the rain and the girl’s steady breathing to break the silence, making the woman think she had finally gone to sleep. Fluffing the pillow, she flipped over to do the same.
Just as Mattie’s eyes started to close, a quiet voice nearly made her growl at the disturbance. “I never heard of the Potenti. What are they?”
“You have a head full of questions tonight,” Mattie softly quipped, trying to avoid the topic.
“Just nervous about this whole fosterage thing,” she admitted with a sigh.
“Don’t be. My father already cares a great deal about you, and so do I. Besides, you’ll soon be so busy that you won’t have a moment to be nervous.”
There was a tremendous groan before Selina groused, “I saw how difficult he made things for Dougal. Will he be as demanding with me?”
“I’m not sure,” Mattie admitted, wincing at the memories of her own lessons with the man. “Unlike Dougal and I, you won’t be in training to be the next Protector. He might go easier on you because of that.”
“Fates, I hope so.”
Another few heartbeats of quiet passed. The woman was on the cusp of sleep when Selina’s voice cut through the silence again. “Mattie, what if—?”
Taking a deep breath so she didn’t bark at the girl, Mattie’s voice managed to come out softly when she said, “Don’t let your worries keep us up all night, Selina. Things seldom work out the way we expect anyways.”
“But—”
“Selina, go to sleep. You’ll be surprised at how different things look in the morning.”
The girl grumbled a bit before becoming silent. Mattie sighed, hoping the youth would finally drift off. Especially since her eyes couldn’t stay open any longer as the soft rain pattering on the roof lulled her to sleep.
Chapter 6
Though his night hadn’t been restful due to the fact Leto snored as loudly as a demon, Garin still had enough presence of mind to swiftly duck down and avoid the incoming projectile as he was making his way to the kitchen. The twinkling metallic disc imbedded itself into the far wall with a horrendous thunk!, making Garin extremely thankful it hadn’t hit his skull. Scratching the back of his head, his eyes followed the item’s trajectory back to the library’s open door.
The reason for the thrown object was soon explained by Thaddeus Brewer’s bellowing voice: “Asger is a fool, Mattie! Did he really think giving us a couple of family trinkets would make us forget what they did to Frieda, the only one honorable enough to do what was right!?”
Curiosity had Garin heading over to the wall while Mattie said, “Uncle Tad, he’s not the one who banished her all those centuries ago. This Keeper is a decent man.”
“Who won’t allow my niece back into his precious Stronghold! They will never change, Mattie! I bet Orla never held up her end of the bargain with you either!”
The cringe Garin had was both for the words and for the fact that the decent-sized brooch was stuck more than halfway into the wall. The beast of a man was strong, no doubt about it. Sighing because he was probably the only one who could accomplish this feat, Garin carefully pulled the piece of jewelry free. Luckily, there were just a few tiny bits of plaster littering Henriella’s clean floor once he was done.
Mattie’s voice was nearly as loud as her uncle’s when she rounded on the man, “Of course, Orla upheld it! I have what she paid me for the Commission Coin in my purse as we speak! Damn it, Uncle Tad! Not every Loganach is untrustworthy!”
Dusting the diamond-encrusted disc off, Garin was surprised it hadn’t been damaged from being wedged so forcibly into the wall. Then he made a grunt of recognition. The centermost emblem was the one he knew to belong to the Loganach Family, which was a stag rearing onto its hind legs while standing in front of a mountain range.
His inspection was interrupted by another thundering comment from Thaddeus, “They are cowards who only care about themselves, which is worse!”
“Not Asger! He actually gives a damn about his people!”
“But that obviously doesn’t include his only son, who is ashamed to go back! How does that make this Asger any different from the ancestor that had disowned his own daughter for helping The Exiles!?”
“We still don’t know if it was for that or for marrying a Brewer!”
“Does the reason truly matter!?”
Garin’s brow furrowed. During the journey back to Crosshawk, Mattie had taken the time to fully divulge how her mother’s family was distantly related to the most unusual branch of the royal family. And that information went a long way to explaining why Fire magic had come to her after the Dragon’s Heart had changed the couple. But it didn’t account for why her arcane power had been so weak before then. If anything, the opposite should have been true! Not even Aegir Brewer’s magical blessing, one that had kept the issues normally found with mixing bloodlines from effecting Frieda’s children, should have made that big of a difference!
The calm female voice almost made Garin jump worse than the argument, “Oh good, you can come and help Selina with getting the table ready.”
Garin turned and saw Henriella standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a resigned expression on her face. Not knowing what else to do, he just offered her the renegade brooch. She wryly smiled and accepted it.
She then lightly grabbed his arm before turning towards the library and shouting, “The least you could do is shut that damn door if you’re going to yell the heavens down upon us! Though I doubt even that will help save us from annihilation!”
Garin flinched when the door slammed loudly shut in response, causing the few tapestries hanging on the wall to violently sway. As he allowed Henriella to lead him into the kitchen, he realized the woman was correct. The action only muffled the voices enough to make the words sound garbled.
Selina was resting against a counter when he entered. She spotted him and quipped, “It’s such a quiet morning; don’t you think?”
“It’ll be louder if I don’t get breakfast started,” said Henriella as she finally released Garin’s arm. “Now while I’m cooking, I need you both to take care of some things.” She then pointed to a nearby doorway. “Garin, in there are additional leaves to the table. We’ll need two of them, and four more chairs once you’re done expanding it.”
He honestly had no idea what she was talking about when it came to leaves and tables. It was one of the troublesome downsides to having grown up with servants who had done most of the household tasks. But he was confident he could figure it out, so he wandered in the direction given to him.
He paused for a moment after he entered the closet-like area, glancing around as he heard the woman instruct Selina from where she could get the plates and silverware once he was done. The place was full of chairs, brooms, mops, buckets, and the like. Then he let out a frustrated breath and took it on hope that the two flat pieces of wood with dowel pins attached to them were the items he needed.
As he bent over to retrieve the pieces from the corner they were snuggled against, a sudden shocking pain hit his rear end! It caused him to jump and hit his skull against a nearby mop head. His shouted curse joined the clatter of various objects landing on him as he fell.
Male laughter was soon covered by Henriella yelling, “Dierthelm! You just volunteered in helping him after using your magic on a guest like that!”
Garin somehow managed to untangle himself and glared when the black-haired giant leaned his large arm against the doorframe and darkly chuckled, “There’s not enough room in there for the two of us.”
“And he’s family now, Ma,” added Kelby a little too merrily as he peeked over Dierthelm’s shoulder. Just as he was only an inch or so shorter than his brother, the younger man’s brown hair was just a few shades shy of being black. “Which means he’s not off limits anymore.”
&nbs
p; Garin closed his eyes and took a calming breath, reminding himself that these men considered Mattie as more than just their cousin. Bran had pointedly told him that she was the little sister they never had. And because Garin always knew that he would antagonize anyone who even looked twice at his foster sister, Gertrude, when she became old enough to court a man, the brothers’ attitudes towards him were understandable.
With this in mind, Garin looked at Dierthelm and dryly offered, “How about I hand you the leaves if you promise not to electrocute me to death?”
The man let out a snort. “I think I can refrain myself.”
“You better!” shouted Henriella. “Otherwise I will let the lot of you starve until lunchtime!”
“You know it’s serious if she threatens to do that,” said Kelby firmly. “Because Da would come after all three of us if his breakfast is cut off.”
“While that could be entertaining,” mused Dierthelm with a sly smile. “I’d rather not have to walk around with a limp when I meet Greta’s family for dinner tonight.”
“And I’d rather not have your father try to punch me through a wall again,” said Garin while Kelby softly muttered the word Bergstrom like it was a curse.
“Da did mention something about giving you one hell of an uppercut,” chuckled Dierthelm after he had smacked his brother on the top of his head.
Taking a moment first to roll his eyes, Garin fought the desire to hesitate when he bent over again. He succeeded in both that and in clearing a new path to the table sections without a repeat shot to the rump. When he finally retrieved the first leaf, Dierthelm stepped forward and readily grabbed it without comment.
Kelby swiftly took his brother’s place once the other man had moved away. “You’re lucky that Mattie loves you, you know,” he said after Garin went to fetch the second piece.
“Yes, I know that full well,” replied Garin with quiet frankness. “And I still can’t believe she does considering how rude I was to steal a kiss when we first met.”
Unraveled Homecoming Page 4
